Tim Tebow: 3 Reasons Jets Are Fools for Ignoring Iconic Backup

The Jets are blowing their only chance to salvage anything positive from this forgettable season by starting Greg McElroy over Tim Tebow.

The plug was finally pulled on turnover-prone Mark Sanchez. But instead of starting the quarterback they traded for during this past offseason, Rex Ryan and the Jets have turned to McElroy. And if this report by ESPN New York's Rich Cimini and Jane McManus is to be believed, Tebow will be No. 3 on the depth chart.

This is a terrible move on several levels.

It Shows Lack of an Organizational Vision

The Jets made a big move to acquire Tebow by sending a fourth and a sixth-round pick plus paying over $2 million to the Broncos for Tebow's services.

Still, this move was more about the statement that his acquisition made rather than the value given up to get him. Tebow was coming in from a successful playoff run and had an army of fans. This put Mark Sanchez, who was building an army of fans who didn't want him to start, in a touchy situation.

Now, if a team is going to put its starting quarterback under that kind of scrutiny, it needs to believe in the player that is brought in.

Yet, here is Tebow toiling away on the bench, having never been given a real shot to show what he can do.

We can all speculate different reasons as to why this happening, and none of them inspire any confidence in the Jets.

This whole thing shows a team that is desperately trying to acquire talent without any consideration for how it all fits together.

Greg McElroy is Not the Answer

The second-year quarterback was the 208th pick in the draft, and he was never projected to be anything more than a decent backup. He has done nothing to prove that the ceiling is too low.

There is no reason to expect he can be any kind of long-term answer in New York, and there is no reason to think that even the Jets believe he can be.

They have so much belief in Greg McElroy's ability to play quarterback that he has been inactive for all but one game this season.

The Jets may believe that McElroy gives them the best shot to win now, but New York's season is over. The Jets can't make the playoffs. All they can do is try to find something positive to build towards for next season.

At Least They Would Know

My guess is that, in practices, Tim Tebow has been throwing to slanting receivers and routinely hitting equipment managers, which, understandably, would leave a coach hesitant to put him into a game. However, John Fox undoubtedly faced a similar situation last season.

Tebow is not known for being a practice player.

Shoot, he isn't known for being a good quarterback in any traditional sense of the word. Yet there he was last season leading the Broncos to one improbable win after another, and doing so in an undefinable way.

Why not throw Tebow in there and see if he can work a similar kind of magic?

Maybe starting Tebow would be a disaster, but at least the Jets would know.